An Alliance of the Brave
by sorallellow
Summary: The Big Four Hunger Games AU Jack, Punz, Merrida and Hiccup form an alliance to win the Hunger Games. Will they be able to outrun the infamous Calhoun, fight the bloodthirsty Hans and kill Hiccup's cut-throat cousin Snotlout? A twisted version of the Pixar/Disney films which includes some very dark and gory scenes. *Jackunzel and Merricup* too.
1. Chapter 1

Rapunzel's foot slipped and she heard a twig snap from below. Ohhhh no.

"Hey, keep it down or we'll both be killed." She looked up to see the District 11 boy balancing nimbly on a high branch. Like her, he'd obviously decided that climbing was the safest option. Rapunzel nodded begrudgingly and crouched down, listening intently to their pursuers on the jungle floor.

"Give it a rest, Calhoun. There's no one here." A huge 17 year old said, putting one of his ginormous hands on his companions shoulder.

"Don't push it, Ralph- I heard someone." She replied, brushing him off. "And I'm never mistaken."

"Then where are they?!" Ralph looked around impatiently.

Calhoun glared at him. "We'll find them. And when we do, there will be nowhere to hide. For now, let's set up camp."

"Sheesh, you're the boss." Ralph threw up his hands and began collecting firewood.

Rapunzel looked up again and saw the boy motioning left. Again she nodded, silently following his lead as he jumped across the trees towards the clearing.

Jack invited this girl into his camp even though she could attack him at any moment. He wondered why he had decided to trust her. She was pretty, and a long time ago the waist length blond hair and green eyes would've been his thing. Now, the hair was something to grab if she came too close, a liability for her and a weapon for him.

"Thankyou." The girl said simply- breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

"Don't mention it." Jack began empty his supplies from his rucksack.

She cleared her throat, "I'm Rapunzel, by the way. District 1."

"Good for you." He replied bluntly. "Now pass me your bag."

"Why?"

"Because I'm letting you stay in my camp, that's why."

"Tell me your name." Rapunzel handed over her bag and moved closer to him.

"Jack." Her face was just centimetres away from his. He swallowed. "District 11."

She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If we wake up early and climb quickly, we'll be able to outrun them."

It took a couple of seconds before Jack realized she was expecting a reply. "Yes," He said finally "But Calhoun's smart. She'll figure out that we're in the trees and cut us off."

"Then we go back the way I came."

"Are you crazy? That's where Elsa's team are hiding!"

Rapunzel sighed. "Well do you have a better idea?"

"We could stay here and make it look like we've gone towards the lake." He suggested, but she shook her head.

"Sue would figure it out, like you said she's smart."

They sat in silence for a while, wondering what they should do. It was a good couple of minutes before Jack finally asked "Does this mean we're going to work together?"

"I guess so. Your climbing skills are definitely useful."

He smiled for what seemed like the first time in forever. "You're not too bad yourself."

* * *

Hiccup was out of luck. Just a couple of hours ago he thought he had a chance, a small one, but a chance never-the-less. He needed to win the games, get home and tell Astrid how he felt and then... Well, he hadn't thought about what would happen after that. This whole scenario was riding on the idea he would win, but now he wasn't so sure.

First of all, the Game-maker, Gothel, had decided this year the games would take place in a jungle- a habitat Hiccup was far from used to living in the cold climate of District 10. Then, as soon as the Hunger Games began, his own ally had thrown an axe at his head, proclaiming that he would be the one to kill him. Soon afterwards Hiccup saw he'd joined forces with Elsa and Hans, the two volunteers from District 2. From the training it was clear they were as brutal as Snotlout- perhaps even more.

All in all it was not going well. Hiccup was a skinny boy, not memorable to get sponsors, not threatening enough to scare away any attackers but too brave to be forgotten about by the other tributes. The only thing he had going for him was that he was smart, yet his brains were useless in this unfamiliar course. Any hopes of surviving were slowly disappearing as he hid in a small cave, alone and injured. He had managed to avoid an axe in his head and instead it had caught his shoulder, ripping apart any chance he had of fighting.

Hiccup wondered dully if he would bleed to death before Snotlout managed to kill him, that would surely be a kinder fate than the one his cousin had in store for him.

The sun began to set, sending its orange rays across the entire jungle. Rapunzel sat cross legged in one of the tallest trees in the arena, watching the sky in awe.

"It's the most beautiful sunset I've seen." Smiling, she pushed her knees up to her chin.

"Too bad it's not real." Jack spoke from behind her. Rapunzel raised her eyebrows as he sat down next to her, his brown hair slightly ruffled from the climb.

"It doesn't matter though. It's still lovely."

Jack eyed her thoughtfully. "Of course it matters if it's real or not."

She cocked her head slightly and replied "Not the way I see it. As long as you enjoy the view and have good company to share it with, nothing else counts."

He chuckled and moved slightly closer to Rapunzel. "But you can't judge a sunset unless you see it in my district- the views truly are beautiful."

"I'll have to take your word on it." She ran her fingers through her golden hair, attempting to disentangle the leaves and twigs that had gotten stuck in it.

Jack sighed. "If we're going to work together, you need to cut your hair."

"No way." She said bluntly and continued to comb it with her fingers.

"Yes way. Look, I'm not going to work with you unless you do something with it."

"Then it's your loss." She rolled her eyes at him. "This is my hair and I'll do what I want with it."

Jack narrowed his eyes- she was behaving like a spoiled child. He wanted her on his 'team' but he was going to have to show her what a danger having her waist-length hair was.

"It's almost dark. Are we going to sleep up here or in your camp?" Rapunzel asked, carefully rising from her seat.

"Let's sleep in the camp, it means we won't have to climb down the tree tomorrow morning." She offered her hand and he took it, allowing her to help him stand.

"We're going to travel on foot?"

"Just until we reach the lake." She gave him a questioning look and Jack sighed. "In the trees we're less-vulnerable, but we're also louder, slower and have a harder route than Calhoun. We need to make sure we get to the lake _before_ her, so our only option is on foot."

"Right... And after that, we're going in the trees?" Jack began to climb down the trunk and Rapunzel, after seeing what he was doing, followed him.

"Let's finish this conversation when we reach the bottom."

"Why, can't handle the climb?" She joked.

Jack laughed, manoeuvring himself under a branch. "As if you could keep up!"

* * *

From a quick glance outside, Hiccup knew that it was going to be dark soon. He also knew he couldn't hide here forever, he'd seen it on countless reruns of the Hunger Games. Sooner or later, a beast or disaster would drive him out of his cave- either killing him then and there or leaving that to the other tributes. He had to start moving before it got dark, regardless of the searing pain in his right shoulder.

Hiccup began to shuffle his way out the small dark cave he had wedged himself into, and was almost completely out before he heard two people approach his hiding-place. Watching from a small crack between two rocks, he saw a young boy and girl emerged from the trees. He guessed they were around 17.

"How does it feel to be beaten, Jack?" The girl teased, hitting 'Jack' on the shoulder.

This was bad. They didn't exactly seem menacing but as Hiccup well knew, looks could be deceiving. He tried to shove himself back in the cave, but his arm was too painful and there wasn't enough time. Instead, Hiccup ducked behind the rocks.

"Oh shove off! You cheated-"

A twig snapped under Hiccup's foot, he cursed silently and held his breath.

"Someone's watching us." The girl said, drawing out the knife wedged in her belt.

Jack nodded and moved slowly towards Hiccup's hiding spot. This was it. He was going to be killed no matter what, he might as well use the only thing he had left- his brain.

"Uh, could you help me?" Jack and the girl looked curiously at each other and then back at the rock blocking him from view. "I'm a bit stuck."


	2. Chapter 2

The three tributes sat within the warm glow of a campfire; hidden amongst the rocks Hiccup had found a couple of hours ago. He could hardly believe his luck- not only had he managed not to get killed by two very able opponents, but they had actually decided to trust him. The pretty girl with green eyes and long golden hair, he learned her name was Rapunzel, was expertly tending to his wounds. Jack was observing him from across the fire, and there was something odd about his expression. It didn't intimidate him, just made Hiccup a little on-edge. He quickly broke eye contact and turned to Rapunzel. "H-how did you learn to um…" He gestured awkwardly to the arm she was bandaging.

She looked up at him and smiled warmly. "My mother taught me to be a healer. I tended the villagers in my District with her… But that was before she…" Rapunzel shook her head and continued with the bandage. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling."

"N-no! That's really cool!" Hiccup exclaimed, feeling bad for bringing up an obviously sore topic. "I wish I could have been helped people like that. My family are black-smiths, and I'm not exactly the hammer wielding type."

"Then that makes two of us." She said, tying the last strings together. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut-off by a loud cough coming from an obnoxious Jack Overland.

"If you two have finished sharing back stories, I'd like to get on with our strategy." Rapunzel rolled her eyes, but turned to face him. "Hiccup?"

"Uh, yes?" He replied.

"Punz and I let you live because you're different to us. You're smart." He said, and to his surprise, she nodded in agreement.

"Jack's right. We're not the thinking-ahead sort of people. Which was fine, until we got into a bit of a 'situation' with Calhoun."

"The District 3 girl?" Hiccup swallowed, realizing that his fear of Snotlout was diminutive to how he felt about some of the other tributes.

"That's the one. All we know is that she's teamed up with Ralph and that she'll stop at nothing to kill us." Rapunzel said, biting her lip at Hiccup's expression.

"Basically, we need to get rid of her." Jack added.

With both of their gazes' heavy on his shoulders, Hiccup was extremely worried about what would happen if he couldn't help them. He knew Rapunzel had a kind streak, but it didn't look like it was a shared trait- Jack kind of scared him. Even if they managed to kill Calhoun and Ralph, Elsa's alliance was waiting just around the corner. And what would happen if they survived them? Wouldn't Jack just kill him anyway?

Hiccup sighed and, taking a deep breath, turned to Rapunzel. "I think I may have an idea.

Do you remember the red-head from District 7?" 

* * *

"Did you see those District 6 tributes? We _completely_ took them by surprise." A blond fourteen-year-old said, shaking his head and laughing. "What utter losers."

"Yeah, yeah, brag all you want. One wrong move and you would have ruined it." The girl replied, rolling her eyes at the boy who was following her like a puppy. She looked like she was a couple of years older than him, or at least acted like it.

"Lighten up, Vi! You weren't too bad yourself." He smirked, flicking the jet-black braid that hung over her shoulder. "Or are you just mad because I was the one who-"

Before the boy could finish his sentence an arrow whizzed through the air, slicing through the main arteries buried within his neck. The impact of the shot sent blood splattering onto his sister's clothing and before she could scream, her lifeless body rolled on the ground next to his.

Merida stood over them, wiping the girl's blood off her blade and onto her trousers. She took a moment to steady her breathing before she knelt down and searched her victim's clothing. Working her way down; she managed to find a bottle of water, another knife and a small rope- not exactly ideal but better than nothing. She blew a stray red-curl off her arm that had been chopped off when she'd slit the girl's throat. Looking down at the brother and sister, she now only felt a dull pang of sadness, not guilt. Death was easy, hell, those two wouldn't have lived much longer anyway. But survival was hard, and Merida would do anything to make sure she won the damn Hunger Games. She had no choice. 

* * *

"You want us to what?!" Jack stared at Hiccup in disbelief. "There is no way that's going to work."

Rapunzel nodded. "I'm sorry, but I'm with Jack on this one. Did you see her in training? She'll kill us."

"Not if we give her a common enemy." Hiccup sighed, wishing that they would understand. "Look, she's not as blood-thirsty as she seems, and she might be the only chance we've got. So unless you've got any other ideas, I say we at least try."

Jack and Rapunzel exchanged glances before they admitted defeat. "Fine." Jack said begrudgingly. He leaned forward, his steady gaze meeting Hiccup's. "But if you're wrong," He motioned towards Hiccup's injured shoulder "Your physco-cousin's revenge plan will be the least of your worries."

Hiccup smiled grimly, praying that he hadn't made another stupid mistake. "I know."

Jack nodded, satisfied, and sat back again. "So where do we find this 'Merida'?"

It was in the early hours of the next morning when Hiccup, Jack and Rapunzel left their camp in search of Merida, the illusive District 7 girl who was a mess of wild red hair and killer instinct. Hiccup knew this was a very risky move, but he also knew that Merida wasn't all she appeared to be- he'd had first-hand experience of that before the Games. His plan was simple, they'd form an alliance with her, kill Calhoun and then 'get rid of her' before she could turn against them. Though right now, their steady search was of no prevail.

"Are you feeling any better?" Rapunzel slowed her pace slightly so she was walking next to Hiccup. "Do you need me to re-tie the bandages?"

Hiccup blushed, noticing Jack's look of amusement. "I'm fine, Rapunzel." He replied quickly, looking at his shoes in embarrassment. He didn't want to be dead-weight and although he was very grateful for Rapunzel's help, she wasn't making his relationship with Jack any better.

"Oh. Okay." She was obviously a bit put off by his rudeness, but then she noticed Jack smirking.

"Jack, be nice." She smiled, giving his back-pack a gentle shove.

He laughed softly as she skipped next to him. "What? I haven't laid a finger on him."

"I know and I'm very proud of you." Rapunzel teased. "But I mean it. We have enough trouble without you bullying the people on your own team."

"Alright, alright." Jack sighed, and without turning to face him, said "I'm very sorry Hiccup. Please continue with your extremely useful plan on how to get us all killed."

Hiccup coughed nervously. "Well... We know the rough area she's in, so first we have to find her. Then we _act_ like we're going to kill her, but I change your minds. And if she doesn't, you know..." He swallowed. "Kill us, hopefully we'll come to some sort of an alliance instead."

"So we're betting our lives on a good-cop bad-cop routine?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes. "And how do we even find her when we've got a cripple to lug around? We need a better plan."

Rapunzel sighed. "We could always lure her out. She cares about that other guy from her District, Dean. If we kill him, she might come seeking revenge or something."

Jack thought for a moment, but then shook his head. "I doubt she cares about anyone. Plus you're forgetting Dean is in Elsa's group, and there is no way we're ambushing that party of freaks." He aggressively ran a hand through his hair. "It's impossible. We're never going to-"

Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the gruesome scene in front of him. Two bodies lay in the clearing, blood covering the ground beneath them. They were the brother and sister from District 5 who had been nice to him during training. One of them could camouflage really well, she could pretty much turn invisible, the other was the fastest runner taking part in the games. Whoever killed them was brutal, someone to avoid at all costs.

Jack whistled, and then without even flinching, approached the sister and began to search her clothing.

"Now I'm all for getting a new blade, but aren't you being a bit..." Rapunzel began, watching curiously from behind Hiccup.

"Insensitive?" He laughed dryly, moving onto the brother's body. "They're not exactly going to care, are they?"

Hiccup swallowed his repulsion and tried to think clearly. "The fact the bodies are still here means they were killed very recently." He tried to ignore Jack's rummaging. "And the arrow in the girl's neck means whoever did this was a skilled archer."

"Punz, look." Jack turned round, holding a small lock of red hair between his fingers. "I think we've found our girl."

* * *

Merida watched from her hiding spot in the buttress roots as three tributes walked out of the clearing where her last victim's lay. The girl with waist-length hair and the District 11 boy looked close, whereas Hiccup, the boy she'd spoken with a few times before the games, appeared to be a new addition to the alliance. Merida had been trailing them for the past hour and had learnt three things. Firstly, they were running from 'Calhoun', a dangerous District 2 girl who had them on a hit-list. Secondly, whilst Rapunzel and Jack were decent fighters, Hiccup was the one who was essential to their plan, the brains behind their fairly cunning operation. Thirdly, that plan involved something to do with her, and they'd spent the last couple of hours searching for any clues to where she might be, ironic, since she'dbeen following _them_.

Merida smiled, rising from the darkness of her shaded hiding spot. She might not be as clever as Hiccup, but the plan she'd just come up with not only got revenge on him, Rapunzel and Jack, if it worked, she would have a clear shot of winning the Hunger Games. This was going to get interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

**A bit of a short one this time because i need to get on with my revision, but hope you enjoy it anyway~**

* * *

"So _this_ is the murderous Merida, who could kill ten grown men with her bare hands?" Jack scoffed at the girl bloody and bruised, kneeling at his feet. "She's useless. I say we kill her."

Rapunzel bit her lip. "I'm sorry Hiccup. He's right. She'll only slow us down."

"Well. That settles it." Jack retrieved the blade from his pocket. "Nice knowing you, Merida."

"Let's not make any rash decisions." Hiccup interjected quickly, standing between them.

His eyes glinted menacingly. "Move out the way. If she's alive she'll get us killed, is she's dead, there's one less tribute we have to worry about."

"Think about it logically. If we help her she'll be in our debt. We've all seen her shoot. Never mind Calhoun, Elsa's gang will be dead in a second if we have her on our team."

Rapunzel approached Merida and knelt down in front of her. She examined the injuries closely, lightly tracing the clotted wound on her forehead. "What happened?"

Merida swallowed and looked at her bloody wrist. "Ah was ambushed by Calhoun. she'd gone tae fin' me by herself, th' sick bastard pinned me tae th' ground an' began tae slice me up." She shook her head as if sickened by the memory.

"How did you escape?" Jack asked sceptically.

Merida looked up and steadily met his gaze. "Ah head-butted her an' stabbed her in th' stomach. While she was wounded, Ah managed tae escape."

Rapunzel rose and brushed the dirt of her trousers. She faced Jack. "The wounds aren't too deep. With my help, she'll heal in a couple of days, to be honest; it's more likely Hiccup will slow us down."

"Fine." Jack turned away, walking towards their next destination. "But she's your responsibility Hiccup." He glanced back at Rapunzel. "Coming Punz?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Course I am."

* * *

"I think it worked." Rapunzel smiled as she walked next to Jack. He really liked that smile.

"Me too." He sighed. She squeezed his hand affectionately and he looked down at her, frowning slightly. "Why are you nice to me? You know we're both going to end up killing each other in the end."

She laughed rather girlishly and smacked him on the back of the head. "Because if that happens tomorrow, then let's enjoy today."

Jack eyed her for a moment. She truly was beautiful, and not because of her eyes or her hair. But because she was _her_. A girl who was followed by happiness wherever she went, and by god, he needed some of that.

"Uh… Jack?" She half-sang, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He blinked, realizing he hadn't spoken for the last couple of seconds. "Uh… yeah?" He mimicked teasingly, reaching out his hand.

She took it, rolling her eyes. "You just spaced-out again, didn't you? What was going on up there?" asked, tapping the side of her forehead.

"I was wondering how a girl like you could come up with such smart things to say."

Rapunzel raised her eye-brows. "A girl like me, huh?"

"Oh come on, I was referring to the hair, Blondie." He laughed, tugging at a stray piece of hair that shaded her eyes.

"Let go!" She said, pushing a hand against his stomach playfully.

"Didn't you have this in a braid to start with?"

"I did, but I didn't like it. I took the band out in the first five seconds of the Games."

"Well that was stupid." He said, grinning at her expression.

She pouted and took and step towards him. He felt his heart jump; the gap between their bodies was now nothing more than an inch. "And why is that, Overland?"

Entangling his fingers in her hair again, he bent down slightly, pulling Rapunzel closer towards him by tugging at her golden locks. "Because I can do this."

"Well, we found them." A deep voice exclaimed. Jack frowned, releasing Rapunzel's hair quickly and turning to face their pursuers

"Great." Calhoun emerged from the trees, smiling menacingly. "Now kill them."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ this is the right way?" Hiccup asked, following the supposedly injured District 7 girl through the tropical jungle. "I don't see Rapunzel and Jack anywhere."

"And Ah cannae believe you're complainin' again!" She sighed angrily. "They probably went off somewhere tae make-out."

"Wait... You think they…" He shook his head. "That's impossible."

"Ah was only jokin' with yeh, Hiccup." Merida laughed. "But Ah wouldn't be surprised…"

"No! Rapunzel would never- not with _Jack_."

"We all do things we regrit in th' Games." She cut down a plant that was blocking the path, motioning at him to follow.

"You were never really injured, were you?" He asked, struggling to keep up with her fast pace.

She glanced back at him and smiled. "You're very observant, Hiccup." She sighed. "No, Ah was not as hurt as Ah pretended tae be."

Hiccup stopped, using a Lianas vine to lean on while he re-adjusted the sling Rapunzel had so carefully constructed. "I guessed as much, but I still don't understand why Calhoun would take her time in killing you, I mean, she seemed smarter than that."

Merida took a step closer to him, a smile that was nothing short of terrifying spread across her pale face. Hiccup was too busy fiddling with his bandage, and did not see the baton that emerged from her pocket, nor did he catch the final look of triumph reflect in her ice-blue eyes.

"Calhoun didn't dae this tae me. Ah did this tae myself." He looked up just in time to see the girl he had so willingly trusted drive an iron bar into his skull.


	4. Chapter 4

Rapunzel cursed under her breath, they were completely trapped. The enormous buttress tree directly behind them spread at least ten metres wide. She was about to reach for her blade when she felt long fingers entwine themselves in hers.

"Rapunzel." Jack said softly, barely moving his lips. "When I say, you have to run."

Her stomach tightened at the thought of leaving him but now was hardly the time to argue about it. Slowly, she nodded her head, keeping her eyes directly on Calhoun, who had a blow-gun aimed directly at her head.

Ralph looked over to her, anxious. "Look, we've got to keep moving. They'll find us."

"Well then, let's do this quickly. Kill Jack, and I'll finish off the girl." She snarled, passing him what looked like a spiked mace and gesturing to Jack. Ralph hesitated. "_Now_."

He nodded, re-adjusting his grip on club and walking towards him. Jack to his left and smiled at Rapunzel before releasing her hand and facing the giant. He looked him up and down then raised his eyebrows mockingly. "You're a coward, Calhoun."

"And you're a filthy traitor. But I'm not the one about to be beaten to death."

Ralph took a swing at him, but Jack's nimble figure allowed him to dodge it easily. "Getting your 'henchman' to do your dirty work? That's low." He said, trying to sound un-phased as he ducked another attack, Ralph narrowly missing his upper-spine. "At least use a better fighter."

Calhoun laughed dryly as she gained on Rapunzel. "As if some dirty District 11 is going to outsmart me. Did you really think I'd fall for your pathetic distractions?" She raised her axe to Rapunzel's neck and smiled triumphantly when she saw Jack's expression change from that of false-confidence to anger. He lunged at Calhoun, and Ralph took the opportunity to deliver a hard blow, the metal head of the mace connecting with his shoulder blade to create a sickening crunch. Rapunzel winced at his howl of pain but recovered quickly, hitting Calhoun over the head with the butt of her knife, and head-butting her when she turned round. Calhoun cursed angrily as she tried to retrieve her blow-gun, but Jack was too fast and swiped it from under her feet.

"You've made a big mistake, boy." She spat as he held her at gun-point. "Ralph, knock him out." But her companion just shrugged his shoulders apologetically and broke into a run, leaving her stranded with Jack and Rapunzel, alone and awaiting her death.

Calhoun pursed her lips, not quite believing how quickly _she'd_ become the prey. "You're not going to win, you know."

Jack smiled and took a step closer to her. "Who's using distractions now?"

"Elsa's gang will find you, Overland, and when they do-" She choked. Rapunzel's knife pierced her square in the stomach, cutting off her final words. Calhoun looked down, putting a hand to the open wound and watching as the blood oozed onto her fingers. Calmly, Rapunzel walked her into the tree, and using Calhoun's own axe, slit the District 3's throat. There she collapsed, not once breaking eye contact with Jack, who watched indifferently from the side. A cannon sounded across the arena.

He walked up behind Rapunzel, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, we need to find Hiccup."

"He's probably with Merida somewhere, he'll be fine."

"Merida?" Jack asked, and then swore under his breath. "She said she stabbed Calhoun in the stomach…"

Rapunzel turned around, wide eyed and breathing heavily. "Merida lied?"

"It doesn't make any sense; we're a bigger threat than Hiccup…" Jack muttered, more to himself than Rapunzel.

She grabbed his hand and shook it desperately. "That doesn't matter! Right now we need to find him!" She began to lead him away when he tightened his grip, stopping her from moving.

"No."

"What?" She hissed. "We need to save him-"

"We don't _need_ to do anything." He said harshly, dragging her back into an embrace. "It's me and you, Punz. Let's survive this together."

Rapunzel struggled out of his hold, trying with everything she had to break free. "He's part of our team, don't you get that?" She tried one last time, looking up into his ice-blue eyes. "Please, Jack? For me?"

He sighed and let her go. "I hope to God you have a plan."

* * *

Merida slouched under the weight of Hiccup's limp body over her shoulder. It had been easy, really, much easier than she had expected. They'd believed every lie she fed to them, and that just proved how useless they would have been as teammates. She even fooled Hiccup with her little sob-story, but whenever she thought of that, she didn't feel triumphant anymore, and she had no idea why. She didn't know him particularly well. She didn't owe him anything. So why did she feel so… guilty?

Merida leaned against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Carrying Hiccup was extremely hard-work, even with his small physique. At this rate she'd never reach Elsa's gang on time. She bent over, letting his body slide off her back and onto the damp undergrowth that covered the jungle floor. Quickly, Merida retrieved her rope and bow from the rucksack that she'd put on Hiccup's back. After tying his hands together with a Constrictor knot, she stood over him, aiming an arrow at his head.

"Hey, wake up." She shouted at him, nudging his face with her foot. "I said move it, ye lazy bastard."

Hiccup began to gain consciousness. His sight was a blurry mess, but he could pretty much make out a mess of red curls and bright blue eyes. "My head…" He groaned, and blinked a couple of times, trying to make the black spots that clouded his vision go away.

"Quit yer whining and stand up." Merida spat, tapping the side of his temple with the head of her arrow. Only then did he notice the rope that bound his hands. Hiccup stared at the know, and began to piece together what had happened before he'd blacked out. He blinked again, looking up to see the very girl that had betrayed him holding an arrow, ready in her bow, aimed at his head.

How could he have been so stupid?

* * *

Jack heaved himself up onto a thick branch of a Kapok tree, and, fairly out of breath, he called to the little blond District 1 who was a good couple of metres ahead of him. "I've got to say Punz, this was pretty smart. I guess you're not just a pretty face…"

Rapunzel looked down, smiling. "You think I'm pretty?" She asked teasingly, testing a flimsy branch with her foot.

He laughed. "I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

"Then you are a liar Jack Overland." She waited for him to catch up with her. "Haven't you had any other sweethearts? You know, back in District 11?"

"So we're sweethearts now? Because I don't think I'm ready for that sort of commitment." He joked.

"Well we've got all the time in the world!" Rapunzel said sarcastically. He climbed up next to her, sheltered by the thick leaves of the Kapok tree. She smacked him over the head again.

"There was one girl." He said as they began to climb again. "But it didn't end well."

"What was her name?"

"Toothina."

"What was she like?" She asked. Noticing his reluctance, she said "I'm just making conversation, Jack."

He thought for a moment and waited for Rapunzel to move on before continuing. "She was good-natured, I guess. Friendly, too. But I think she was just too naïve to live in this world." She nodded and he was suddenly curious about _her_ backstory. "What about you, Punz?"

"Huh? What about me?"

"You know..." He could see her face going a dark pink, and he grinned. "Any past lovers?"

She shook her head, and he was about to tease her obvious lie, when he noticed something flicker in her eyes.

Rapunzel was silent for the rest of the climb, only pointing out a rotten branch once or twice. Jack knew he had touched a nerve, and although he really wanted to find out what it was, he couldn't bring himself to ask her again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay readers, **

**So there's going to be some rather gruesome scenes and strong-language from here on out, so if you are easily disturbed please stop reading now. **

**Thankyou and I hope you enjoy 3**

* * *

It felt like Hiccup had been walking for days. His Capital sneakers were extremely comfortable, but even the gel layer encased heel didn't prevent two large blisters forming on the ankles of both feet. Merida was nothing if not endurable, and she didn't allow stops or water-breaks. They just carried on walking in a general south-direction, Hiccup was beginning to think that not even anacondas could disrupt her fast pace.

"Merida, please." He begged hoarsely. "At least tell me where we're going."

"Unless ye want an arrow through yer brain, Ah suggest ye shut yer mouth." She said without a glance in his direction. She continued to plough on ahead of him.

Hiccup was done with staying silent though. If he was going to die either way, he might as well fight, for dignity's sake. "Oh come _on_, Merida. If you wanted to kill me, I would have been dead the second Jack and Rapunzel left us."

She laughed, a little breathless from the trek. "Ah might not be able to kill ye, but there are worst things than death, trust me."

"Trust _you_? No way."

"Don't beat yerself up about it Hiccup, at least ye were harder to fool than the other two."

He shook his head. "Merida. Tell me where we're going."

At that she stopped, turning round to give him another terrifying grin. "We're gonna give yer dear cousin a visit."

* * *

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Jack asked, and Rapunzel just smiled. It was so like him to be flippant in a situation like this, and so like her to enjoy being the know-it-all.

"Well… Elsa and Hans are cocky, right?" Jack nodded. "So I'm guessing they've picked a clearing as their main base, or destroyed enough trees to create one. If I'm right, we should be able to see them from here."

"And by 'here' you mean…"

"Only the tallest tree in the whole of the arena!" She said exasperatedly.

He nodded, feeling the rush of adrenaline as he stared at the 250 ft drop below them. Jack had his arm round Rapunzel's waist, supposedly for balance, and loved how close her body was to his. His chest was pounding, the wind was rushing through his hair, and he was holding the most gorgeous girl in the whole of Panem. If they weren't on the lookout for a physcopathic arrow-wielding 16 year-old who was holding their ally hostage, it would have been the perfect moment.

Rapunzel turned to him, her green eyes dilated and practically sparkling. "See, I was thinking-"

"_You_ were thinking?" He interrupted, a devilish grin playing about his lips. "…That's new."

She couldn't swat him because of the immediate danger just inches below them, so she gave him one of her worst glares instead, and then continued. "I was _thinking_ that it didn't make sense that Merida wouldn't have risked her life just to get rid of Hiccup. I mean, you're a better fighter, and you really pissed her off during training. Plus, who wouldn't kill you if they had the chance…"

He rolled his eyes at her unsubtlety. "I'm deeply wounded, but go on."

"My point is, I think she believes she has more of a chance of winning the Games if she's part of a team." Rapunzel looked up at him. "And Hiccup has a certain cousin, who would do anything for the chance to kill him."

"Oh my God." Jack blinked. "What you're saying is that…"

"Yup." Rapunzel said, popping the p. "Merida is going to use Hiccup as a bargaining-chip to and join Elsa's Alliance."

"You are a genius."

She grinned. "It gets better." She steadily raising her arm and pointed at a clearing to the south. "I think I found them."

* * *

The artificial sky was quickly darkening as another night took over the arena. Elsa was perched lazily on a rock, trying to ignore her allies constant bickering. Her group was steadily increasing in numbers, and she was very aware that if this carried on they would end up throttling each other _before_ they killed their actual enemies. Most of them were brutal, mindless killing machines, who lacked any common sense or human decency. It made her sick to her stomach.

"You stole my knife again, didn't you? You filthy District 12 bastard." Alex gave Snotlout a hard shove, and the boy took a step closer to him, pressing his forehead to Alex's.

"Don't… Fucking… Touch me." Hans put a hand on his shoulder and firmly pulled him away. Snotlout shrugged him off, far too involved in planning different scenarios of Alex's death.

"If you don't back off," Hans said icily. "Then I will break both of your worthless necks. Understood?"

Alex nodded obediently, but Snotlout just muttered a "Whatever." and walked off. He despised Hans and hated following his command, but he had to listen to him if he didn't want to piss off Elsa. She terrified everyone.

"Alright people." Elsa addressed the group, moving out from under the shade. "I want Cupcake and Dean to come with me to raid the cornucopia. I'm putting Hans in charge, and if I find out you've disobeyed him, well…" She smiled menacingly. "You all know what happened to Dogs Breath."

Snotlout shuddered inwardly. Dogs Breath the Duhbrain might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was faithful to Snotlout- perhaps a little too faithful. Two days ago, his sidekick had been on cooking duty, and Snotlout had joked that he should poison Elsa's Mung Bean soup. He didn't really think he would do it; no man in their right mind would go against that head-case. But Dogs Breath thought Snotlout was his friend, and had laced her soup with a large dose of Strychnos. She had smelt it before it even reached her hands.

That night all anyone on the camp could hear were the shrieks of pain coming from Elsa's tent, her voice muffled by the unmistakable sobs and whimpers coming from Dogs Breath. The next morning, his disfigured body was found covered in blood and his own urine, and was chucked into a near-by river.

Snotlout had thrown his companion under the bus, and he didn't regret it one bit.

* * *

"Please don't do this." Hiccup begged again, even though he knew there was no point. "Do you know what Snotlout will do to me?"

She laughed. "Ye will be more worried about what Ah'll do to ye, if ye don't _shut up_."

"Merida I…" She turned round. "I, er… need the bathroom." He said, and crossed his legs for effect. Hiccup was a terrible liar, and he knew he wasn't fooling anyone.

Merida raised an eyebrow. "Go behind the bushes over there. If ye try anything funny, I'll shoot ye leg."

He swallowed. "Actually, it's okay. I'll just hold it in."

"Don't ye dare wet yerself."

Smiling, besides himself, Hiccup nodded. "I'll try my best."

They walked a little way in silence before Hiccup spoke again. "You do realize it'll be pitch-black in about an hour."

"What? Ye scared of the dark?" She smirked.

"No! I'm just asking if we're going to stop to make camp."

"Ah'm not stupid, Hiccup." She sighed. "We're not exactly gonna be sitting round the fire singing songs."

"You're doing this for your brothers, aren't you?" Hiccup asked softly.

She didn't reply. Instead Merida stopped walking and sat down, removing her tinder box from the rucksack. "Are ye going to give me a hand or what?"

* * *

**So did you guys like Elsa's/Snotlout's POV? Please review telling what you think! x**


	6. Chapter 6

**im really sorry i havent updated in a while- but being so close to my GCSE's, fanfiction wasnt exactly my priority...**

**thanku for all ur 'MAZING reviews and endless support, you guys are the best!**

**anyways, i hope u enjoy and im looking forward to writing the next one~**

* * *

The arena consisted of four main sections. In the centre was a circle of thick undergrowth, mostly covered by a spread of tall trees. If you were to find yourself in the midst of this jungle it would impossible to find your way out, so no one knew what dangers lurked in the heart of the jungle, but didn't exactly feel the urge to find out. Up South, the force field (which was essentially the gate that encaged the 12-18 year olds) was blocked by a huge lake that branched into small rivers across the arena. Even though this meant there was a small chance of dehydration, the lake almost provided a second Concubine, making it a hotspot for Volunteers who were eager to taste the blood of lone-tributes in the search of the water's source. The lake spread across half the edge of the arena, forming a kidney-bean shape towards the South-West. Near its bulge, the trees thinned into clusters, most of the landscape consumed by open clearings and smaller shrubs. In the third section, a small mountain, more like a hill, sat blocking the view of what lay behind it. It was rumoured that only Rex, a fearsome District 2, had attempted to climb it, and whether he had survived or not was a mystery to all those competing. The North was covered by a sandy-muddy terrain, a desert which was as big as it was empty. The rivers stopped where the jungle turned to dust, so the tributes had only a glimpse of the scorching sand and swiping winds, which was when they first entered the Hunger Games.

The Concubine was helpfully placed right on the edge of this barren waste-land, and as Elsa prepared for her journey with Cupcake and Dean, she realized there was a chance she wouldn't return.

* * *

"Do yeh need some new bandages on tha' arm, Hiccup?" Merida glanced sideways at his injury whilst strapping a leather band around her own arm with her teeth.

He chuckled dryly. "Death by infection doesn't seem like such a bad option."

"Tha's what my Hamish said, but then he came to meh all cryin' like a baby the next day." She rolled her eyes, the blue rings only half visible in the darkness. "He had to spend the next three days in bed- and all he did was complain! Now of course he tells the story like he was some sort of a hero."

"A hero? Well he's certainly ambitious for a six year-old."

"Aye, he took after meh dad." Her tales of fond memories retrieved a softness in her voice Hiccup hadn't heard before.

"I always wished I had a brother." He smiled. "Someone else for my father to put all his dreams of chieftain onto."

After a few moments of silence, Merida said "Hiccup?"

"What?"

"How come yeh and Snotlout are cousins even though yer from different Districts?"

He sighed. "It's a long story."

"We've got all night." Merida shrugged her shoulders. "Yer might as well tell it."

Hiccup moved so he was lying on his side, and, resting his chin on his palm, thought back to the story that was told to him so long ago. "My father, Stoick the Vast is the mayor of my District and I think my uncle has always hated him because of that." He began, looking up at the ceiling of leaves that blocked his view of the sky. "Before I was born, my uncle, on a jealous rampage, did something unspeakable to him and was hereby banished from the District. He should have been left to die in the woods, but his wife pleaded that my father and the Peace-Keepers send him to District 12 instead. She was pregnant with Snotlout, you see, and so they obliged as long as the 'situation' was kept on the down-low."

"…What did he do?"

"My dad never told me directly." Hiccup answered, shaking his head. "But I always figured it had something to do with my mother."

"Yer mother?"

He sighed and rolled onto his back. "She died when I was still young."

Merida moved a little closer to him. "Ahm sorry." She breathed. "Ye understand why Ahm doing this, don't ye Hiccup? Ah can't let anythin' happen tae them."

"I get it." He smiled and turned his head towards her. "I do wish you didn't have to kill me though."

She laughed, and Hiccup was shocked at the beautiful, wholehearted sound she made. "Me too, Hiccup." Merida closed her eyes. "Aye, you've been a very companionable hostage."

Hiccup smiled, and watched her for a moment longer.

Silence stretched out between the two tributes, and as they lay there in the dark, Hiccup couldn't help feeling that it would be okay to die here, even if it meant he'd never see Astrid again.

Because even though he knew this girl was a devil, she was a beautiful one, and he desperately wanted to see her true colours.

* * *

As Today's Fallen Tributes flashed across the night sky, Rapunzel sat with her chin on her knees, watching from a fig tree. Jack obviously thought she was crazy, risking their lives for a boy they'd only known since yesterday, who was probably already dead. But it was important to her, and begrudgingly he'd relented, agreeing to this suicide mission because…

Well, that was good point. Why _was_ he doing this? It certainly wasn't for Hiccup; Jack had made that blindingly clear. Was it for her? The thought made her feel funny in ways she couldn't explain, filling her with emotions that hadn't arisen since she had met _him_. Feelings Rapunzel was sure she would never experience again.

"Hey, Punz?" Jack's deep voice cut through all the thoughts that clouded her head, making her jump.

"Uh, yes?"

"Come on, we need to get moving." She looked up at him; he really was striking- especially in the moonlight. "Rapunzel? If we don't go now, we'll never catch up with them."

Jack offered his hand and she gladly took it, and then attempted to wipe the mould off her pants. He looked at her in bemusement. "What?" Rapunzel asked defensively.

"Where are your shoes?" He said, staring in wonder at her bare feet.

She waved him off. "Probably caught in a tree somewhere, I don't know."

Jack laughed and entwined his fingers through hers, setting a fast pace for Rapunzel to follow. "Are you tired? You know we're not going to stop till morning, right?"

She nodded. "What will we do when we find them?"

"Well, hopefully he'll still be with Merida, so we'll kill her, save Hiccup and escape to the mountain in the East."

"And what if he's already been given handed over to Elsa?"

Jack stopped, his shoulder's sagging slightly. "Look Punz, we're in enough danger as it is, but taking on Elsa's Alliance and Merida? That's just suicide."

"Oh." She released her hand from his and gazed up at him. His eyes were quite mesmerising, actually, and when he looked at her like that she wanted desperately to close the space between them. Jack sighed and looked away, Rapunzel couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of disappointment. She swallowed. "Let's keep moving then."

He nodded, and they continued their journey into the darkness.

* * *

Light streamed through the thick branches of Canopy trees, awaking Hiccup from his restless slumber. As he squinted in the light, he was suddenly thankful that the Games were taking place in a jungle this year- it gave much better hiding places than any other arena he's seen.

"Merida...?" Hiccup called softly, but she was no longer lying beside him. Standing up quickly, he searched their shelter of trees, and found that she had taken all her stuff with her- including her bow.

She had let him live.


	7. Chapter 7

**sorry the last chapter was kinda crappy- i hope this one is more enjoyable x**

* * *

Jack was exhausted. They had been walking all night and morning, but it seemed the jungle went on forever. Indeed, the arena was bigger than it had ever been before- a feature advertised across the Capitol in an attempt to draw in even more viewers. Not that they needed them.

"Rapunzel..." He wheezed, motioning for her to slow down. "Water..."

It seemed she was immune to sleep deprivation. This extraordinary girl was ahead of him, humming to herself as she manoeuvred through the undergrowth. "What?" She asked vaguely, extracting a petal from a Tomentosum flower on her right.

"I... need... water..." At that Rapunzel stopped. She smiled slightly, reaching into her backpack and passing him the bottle. Jack guzzled it down, and looked up to see she was still staring at him curiously.

"What is it?"

"You don't cope well without sleep, do you?"

His eyes widened incredulously. "This is how a normal person reacts to a 23 hour all-nighter." He began walking again. "I have no idea how _you're_ coping."

She laughed. "Back home, people needed tending at all hours. If we performed an operation, I'd often go two days without sleep." She looked at her feet, as if saddened by the memory. And there it was again. The look in her eyes that put up an unexplained distance between them. The look that made him wonder if there was already a man waiting for her back home.

The truth was Jack cared for her, and he _had_ no one waiting for him outside. To think that he wasn't the only one... Well that hurt him more than any weapon could. He knew it was foolish, and that one of them would most likely die in a couple of days. But it didn't stop his jealousy- or his desire.

Suddenly desperate, Jack put his hands round her neck, pushing Rapunzel against the nearest tree. She let out a small gasp and put her arms round his torso, looking up into his ice-blue eyes. "Jack I-"

He put a finger to her mouth, and leant down, planting a soft kiss on her lips. A rose blush spread across her cheeks, she looked down. "I need to tell you-"

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

Not meeting his piercing gaze, she stayed silent. He felt a knife twist in his gut. _Of course_ _there was_.

"We need to get going." She nodded, and reluctantly drew away from him. Jack punched a fist against the tree, wishing he didn't feel so betrayed.

* * *

Voices sounded behind Hiccup as he desperately tried to hide himself behind a epiphytes bush. The footsteps approached, and he held his breath, trying to control the panic rising. It seemed there were two tributes, but being shaded by the thick leaves that was all he could work out. They came closer to his hiding place, their shadows flickering across the leaves. Hiccup attempted to move backwards, but his arm knocked against a branch and he yelped in surprise.

"Shit." He whispered to himself, his cover blown.

"Hiccup?" A voice called. Breathing a sigh of relief, he reached out and was greeted by a strong hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Thank goodness you're still alive!" Rapunzel exclaimed, trapping him in a powerful hug, which for someone so petite was pretty impressive. She released him, quickly glancing around. "Where's Merida? Did you kill her?!"

Jack snorted. "As if he could stand a chance against-."

"Did I ask for your input?" Rapunzel interrupted, looking up at him. Jacks eyes flashed dangerously. Hiccup gulped.

"Sorry, Princess. A District 11 like me should know when to address his superior, right?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "Jack I didn't mean-"

"I think we need to get going." Hiccup interjected, as much as he hated to get involved in... Whatever this was, he was also aware that every second they wasted stood around arguing, Elsa was that much closer to killing them.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Do you have a plan, then?"

He bit his lip. "Sort of."

"Well that's reassuring."

* * *

"It's hurting again, isn't it?" Rapunzel asked, and Hiccup blushed. He still wasn't used to being fussed over. She passed him a strange looking petal out of her bag. "Here, eat this. I heard that Tomentosum flowers have healing properties."

"Thank you." Hiccup replied, cautiously taking the flower from her. Jack was a good couple of paces ahead of them, and it he wasn't able hear their conversation, or so he pretended.

"I'm so glad we found you. I was worried Merida would've already given you to Elsa." She continued and Hiccup looked at her in surprise.

"So you knew I was going to be..."

"Exchanged for Merida's freedom? I guessed as much." She smiled, a little smug of her wits.

"And you still went looking for me?" Hiccup asked, confused at why she would risk her life for someone she'd just met- especially since it was his stupid plan that got him there in the first place.

"Of course I did. I'm not like Jack, Hiccup."

He shrugged his shoulders. "If you had been taken by Merida, he would've moved heaven and earth to get you back." When she shook her head, he said softly. "He loves you Rapunzel."

She stopped, shaking her head again. "Not anymore."

"Did something happen while I was gone?" He asked and she began walking again, not meeting Hiccup's eyes.

"I was a total coward, Hiccup. And now he won't even look at me."

"...You'll work it out, I'm sure you will." He said, putting an arm around her.

She sniffed, relaxing her head on his shoulder. "Why are you so nice about me and him? I mean... he's so horrible to you, he always has been."

"This is the Hunger Games, Rapunzel. He doesn't trust me, and you probably shouldn't either."

She laughed, lifting her head from his chest. "But how could I not? You're not a killer- you're my friend."

Again, Hiccup blushed. What was it about this girl? She was completely different to Merida and Astrid- but he felt attracted to her in a way he couldn't explain. His feelings weren't romantic, but that of respect, which was unusual since she was so beautiful.

"There's a clearing over there. We'll rest for an hour, and then make our way up stream."

Rapunzel nodded. "Right."

* * *

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

Merida was not prone to regretting her mistakes, she much preferred looking forward than looking back, but it was impossible to move on from something even _she_ didn't understand.

So he had been nice to her. So he had listened to her stories and understood her in a way no one else ever had. He was a pathetic, useless coward- not to mention her only way of making it out of the arena alive. And she had set him free. Last night, everything had been going to plan. She would walk for another two miles, give Hiccup over to Elsa, join their alliance and emerge victorious. She had been so close to seeing her brothers again, and her mother… If only she could've spoken to her one more time. It was weakness that made her heart soften over Hiccup's sob-story, and weakness had driven her to leave him alive. Now she was walking aimlessly in the forest, with no plan and nowhere to go.

So god-damn stupid.

Retrieving her bottle from her rucksack, she gulped down the water, wiping her mouth with her sleeve, and stopped suddenly. It was only then that she heard breathing behind her, and before she could reach for her bow, Merida's world was plunged into darkness.

"Elsa- I found her!"


	8. Chapter 8

Merida spat blood onto the forest floor, her head reeling from the punch Elsa had just swung at her. She only had a second to regain her balance before Elsa used her elbow to push her neck against a tree. The red-head struggled to break free, but it was no use. This girl was a career, a trained killer. Merida had no chance against her in hand-to-hand combat.

"Now, I've been very patient with you, Merida." Elsa smiled menacingly as she retrieved a blade from her right pocket. "But I'm about to reach my limit."

"What do yeh want?" She heaved, and Dean chuckled behind Elsa. She stared at him, searching for any part of the boy she once knew in those cold, dead eyes, but it was no use.

So this was what it had come to. Dean was from her district- they'd practically grown up together- and here he was, laughing at her struggling for breath. She remembered that he had had a crush on her once. He had looked after her brothers once or twice, too. It made her want to rip his throat open with her bare hands.

"Merida." Elsa said sweetly, bringing her attention back to the crazy bitch who was about to kill her. "Be a good girl and tell me where the three other useless tributes are."

"Ah don't know what yeh talkin' about." She wheezed, trying and failing to imitate Elsa's sickly tone.

"What a shame. You had so much potential, huh? Everyone thought _you_ were going to win." She licked her lips and brought the blade up to Merida's face, slicing a deep red line down her cheek. Merida gritted her teeth in agony as the knife broke her skin. She could feel the blood dribble down to her chin but refused to scream, no way was she going to give Elsa the satisfaction. "I'm going to tell you what's to happen after I win this competition."

"Yeh alright." Merida gasped, and Elsa smiled, pushing her forearm even deeper into Merida's neck.

"You want to save your brother's right? I respect that. Family bonds and shit." Elsa whispered into Merida's ear. "You also want to protect the skinny, freckled boy and his band of idiots. But, you see, I'm running out of tributes to kill that aren't in my alliance, and those three are next on my list. So you're going to tell me where they're hiding, or, _when_ I win, I'll make sure to kill you and all your family. Deal?"

Merida clawed Elsa's arm as she continued to strangle her, her head pounding so bad she couldn't see straight. All she could think of were her little brothers, waiting for her back in District 7. She'd promised them she would return. If she didn't survive, all that killing, all that hurting, it would have been for nothing.

And if Elsa won?

Her whole family would be dead in a week's time. There was no way she could risk all that over some boy she'd met a couple of days ago.

"Do we have a deal?" Elsa held the blade just centimetres away from Merida's right eye.

"They're heading to the lake." She rasped. I'm_ sorry Hiccup_. "If yeh start walkin' east now, yeh'll find them by night fall." Elsa released her, a triumphant smirk falling on her lips. Merida collapsed, coughing and spluttering into the undergrowth. She just prayed that she had made the right choice.

"Alright, let's get moving." Elsa turned to Cupcake. "Bind her hands, and don't you dare let her escape."

Cupcake nodded and ran over to Merida, strongly grabbing her arms and tying them with Capitol-branded rope. Merida tried to fight back, to escape- but Cupcake was too fast and smacked her hard across the face. Her cheek already stung from the wound Elsa had created, but the added impact of the slap was so painful it almost made tears form in her eyes. "We had a deal yeh _filthy_-"

"I need to know that you're telling the truth, Merida. I'll release you as soon as we find them." Elsa replied, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. Signalling to her followers, she began to walk in the direction of the lake, and Dean followed closely behind her- not giving a second glance to Merida who was being dragged across the forest floor. He had truly lost himself, she thought, and she wondered what had happened to him, to make him into the blind sheep that looked at her as if she were a stranger. Right then, Merida made a vow that she would destroy Elsa. No matter what.

* * *

"We're out of water." Jack noted, as he drained the last couple of drops from the bottle. He, Rapunzel and Hiccup were all slumped against a giant Buttress tree, trying to get a few minutes of sleep before they continued their journey to the lake. Their plan, or Hiccup's plan, was to set up take down the lone tributes one by one, and wait for Elsa's team to kill each other before they even came close to their alliance. It was an easy enough strategy, and although Jack hated to admit it, Hiccup was an important asset to their team. There was one thing that bothered him, though.

How _did_ he escape Merida?

"I'll get some." Hiccup said, and was about to sit up, but Rapunzel pushed him back down.

"No way." She exclaimed firmly, gesturing to his wounded arm. "I'll do it."

He smiled at her, biting his lip. "Thankyou." He said, giving Jack had the sudden urge to punch him. She winked and walked off to the nearby stream, leaving both boys alone.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Hiccup." Jack said as soon as she left, leaning over the buttress root to get a look at him. "You might have Rapunzel fooled, but your last 'plan' almost got both killed- and you conveniently left out how you survived getting kidnapped by the most able archer in the whole of the arena."

Hiccup avoided Jack's gaze, but spoke confidently when he said "We both know what this is really about, Jack."

"What?" He asked, surprised at both his question and the fact that Hiccup had dared to answer back. Something had definitely changed during the time they were separated, and he didn't like it one bit.

"You're just upset that you ruined things between you and Rapunzel. She really likes you, but all you do is push her away." This time Hiccup met his gaze, giving him a look that made Jack's blood boil with anger. He didn't know _anything_ about his relationship with Rapunzel.

Rising from his seat, Jack stood over Hiccup, who watched him through narrowed eyes.

"What did you say?" Jack seethed.

"Are you going to hurt me Jack? Are you going to kill me, it that your plan?" Hiccup stayed seated, steadily looking up at Jack. "I'm the best chance you have of surviving these games, and you know it."

He made him so goddamn angry. He knelt to his level, grabbing Hiccup's shirt. "You little-"

"Do yourself a favour," He interrupted him, looking down at Jack's fist. "Make things right with Rapunzel, before it's too late."

"_I can't_."

"Why not?"

"Because…" Jack sighed in frustration, slackening his grip on Hiccup's clothing.

Hiccup glared at him impatiently. "Because?"

"Because she already loves someone else. And… And I can't do that to the guy waiting for her back home." He collapsed next to Hiccup, his head in his hands. "What if she survives the Games and I don't? That guy… He'll never forgive her. I know I wouldn't."

Hiccup blinked at him in astonishment. "But that's not true."

Jack looked up. "What do you mean?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Jack asked in frustration.

"Her lover. A couple of years ago he-"

His voice was cut-off by a blood curdling scream coming from the distance. Jack's heart dropped into his stomach. There was no way.

"_Rapunzel_."

* * *

**ugh this was really hard to write... sorry if it's not great :/**

**as always, thankyou for all ur reviews/follows/favourites, i hope to update more regularly from now on x**


	9. Chapter 9

Heart hammering in his chest, Jack and Hiccup barely registered their surroundings as they sprinted towards the direction of the scream. Thoughts clouded Jack's mind; what if she was hurt? What if she had slipped, and was drowning in the lake?

What if Elsa had found her?

She could already be dead.

How would he live with himself if something had happened to her? The truth was he couldn't. In only a couple of days she'd become the most important thing in his life- so much so his whole existence seemed to depend on her. His head throbbed with adrenaline as he controlled the urge to vomit.

"This way!" Hiccup yelled to him, signalling towards a cluster of trees towards the east of them. Jack nodded, gasping for breath as he narrowly dodged a tree branch mere inches above his head.

Another scream echoed across the arena and terror flooded Jack's body, rooting him to the spot, and he found himself in the center of a cluster of trees. "Rapunzel?" He called out, his chest tightening as he screamed her name. "RAPUNZEL?!"

Hiccup shook his head, desperately trying to get Jack's attention. "Jack I don't think that's a good-" But he was cut off by a low chuckle that sounded from the edge of the clearing.

Five tributes appeared from under the shadows of the trees; a broad-shouldered boy with a knife to Rapunzel's throat, a huge beast that had Merida by her hair, and a girl still half shrouded in shadow, watching from behind them. Rapunzel stared at Jack, her eyes wide with fear. She had a giant bruise across her left eye and a big chunk of her hair had been ripped out. He had _told_ her to cut it. Why couldn't she have listened to him, just this bloody once? Merida wasn't looking much better- her face was all sliced up like salami, and by Hiccup's sharp intake of breath, Jack knew he was thinking the same thing.

How could they have let this have happened?

"Well that was surprisingly easy." The female tribute said, stepping forward as a disgusting smile spread across her face. Her blonde-white hair was tied back in a braid, her bright blue eyes raised in mock-surprise. She was beautiful, but almost scarily so- like she was too perfect to be real. Whereas Rapunzel was warm and bright, this girl was as cold as winter itself, with a menacing grin that only a fool would underestimate.

Elsa.

"Dean, be a dear and bring forward the blonde tribute."

* * *

She's not human, Dean repeated in his mind, as if convincing himself it was true would make it reality. This Rapunzel girl was nothing to him, another sack of meat to slice up so Elsa could win the games and bring honour to her District. He knew that she was controlling him, and it was only a matter of time before he received the same fate as all the other tributes that she'd mercilessly cut down. He just couldn't bring himself to care about his death anymore. He couldn't bring himself to care about _anything_, really.

"Dean?" Elsa reiterated, smiling sweetly in a way that made him feel physically ill. He blinked twice before nodding, gripping the girl's hair tighter as she yelped in reply. He dragged Rapunzel forward, keeping the knife in contact with her face the whole time. She tried to bite his finger, so he yanked her hair again, this time removing another piece from her already half-bald scalp. She screamed, tears staining her cheeks and slipping onto his blade-wielding hand. The boy opposite, Dean recognised him as Jack Overland, stepped forward as if to attack him, but his friend (what was it, Hiccup?) held him back.

Stupid bitch. Why did she keep struggling? Apart from Elsa, everyone stood in the clearing was going to die- at least _he_ would give her a quick, easy death, rather than that senseless Dogsbreath the Duhbrain.

"_Elsa_." Merida cried hoarsely, her hands still bound with thick rope. "We had a deal."

"Ah yes." Elsa replied, signalling Cupcake. "Let her go, as I promised."

The girl grunted, but cut Merida's hands free. "And I want meh bow." She called, and with a sigh, Elsa chucked it over to her. After retrieving her beloved weapon, Merida sprinted from the clearing, giving one last look to Hiccup before she disappeared from sight. As Dean watched her go, he felt nothing. He saw nothing. There was only a dull sort of pain as he recalled faint memories of his home, of the young red-headed girl who had shouted at him for throwing pebbles at a cat. Dean understood that at one point in his life, her survival would have flooded him with relief. But now, stood here, all he could think about was what it would feel like to chase after her, to pin her down and strangle her until her last dying breath.

"Now, Jack." Elsa moved next to Dean, stroking his bicep as if he were a prize cow. "If you sacrifice yourself, I will set your sweetheart free. If you don't, she's dead. Got that?"

* * *

Rapunzel tried to shake her head, her eyes begging him not to accept. But how could he not? Hiccup thought, his eyes resting on his companion. They were kidding themselves thinking they could survive this, and he had been stupid enough to think that he could outsmart Elsa. Every plan he had come up with in the entirety of the Games had failed. Hiccup could see that, now. No matter what they had done or who they had allied with, there was no chance they could have won against this... This killing machine. Jack began to step forward, his eyes unwaveringly meeting the Elsa's across the clearing. "I'll do anything you want."

"Jack, NO! It's a trap-" Rapunzel managed to say, fighting off the brute's iron grip. It earned her a hard slap across the face, making Jack practically shake with anger.

Elsa laughed and applauded their interaction, the sound ringing out across the trees. "'Course it's a trap, you stupid girl." She smiled at Jack, licking her lips impatiently. "So what will it be, Jack?"

"You can't honestly be considering it! You _know_ she'll kill her anyway-" He hissed, grabbing Jack's arm, but he shrugged him off.

"Then what _should_ I do Hiccup? Come on, you're the fucking brain. Any ideas?" Hiccup looked pitifully into his eyes, trying to apologise. This was all his god-damn fault. "Yeah, didn't think so."

Just as Jack stepped forward, Hiccup heard a cry coming from the District 10 girl, Cupcake. She fell to the ground, blood soaking into the ground beneath her. Hiccup eyes registered the arrow wedged in the back of her head. In that single moment of confusion, Dean slackened his grip on Rapunzel, and without even thinking, she wrestled the knife from his hand and stabbed it deep into his side. With a shriek of pain, he released her. She stumbled towards Jack, unaware of Elsa charging at her from behind. But before she could grab at Rapunzel, another arrow whizzed past Hiccup's ear and buried itself into Elsa's shoulder.

He fled the clearing, not daring to look back at Jack and Rapunzel. As he ran for his life, there was only one person on Hiccup's mind. The girl who had saved them all.

Merida.

* * *

Darkness swallowed the arena and Snotlout began to wonder how long this contest would go on for. What had it been? A week? It felt like years had gone by in this god-forsaken forest. And there was something in the air tonight- something that put him on edge in ways he couldn't explain.

"Are you coming, Snotlout?" Hans called, and he whooped in reply.

A huge benefit of joining the alliance was the protection that traveling in numbers provided, and this was especially useful in the daily 'hunts'. Since Elsa had gone off to raid the concubine, the rest of the group were to go out hunting for other lone tributes- and on tonight's menu was the ginormous feast of Calhoun's ex-partner, Ralph. It wasn't the kill that Snotlout enjoyed, it was the excitement of the chase, the power he felt when he had them trapped- _that_ was unbeatable.

As the rest of the group exited the clearing, a horrendous sound echoed across the arena. "Hey is that-"

Without warning, the sky flashed white, and storm clouds rolled in from every direction. Thunder rumbled across the jungle, and the ground itself began to shake with the sheer force of the sound. It was only then that Snotlout felt it. A huge wet water-droplet splattered directly in the middle of his forehead, before the heaven's opened, and rain poured down onto the group of tributes, drenching them instantly.

The games, Snotout realised, had only just begun.

* * *

**SO, the first big climactic scene of the series is over- what did you guys think? x**


	10. Chapter 10

It had taken Merida all of three minutes to return to the clearing. Maybe it was the stupidest decision she had ever made. Maybe, right now her family were sat at home watching her, screaming at the television for her to run and find safety- just as she'd promised her brothers she would. But all she knew was that if that useless boy and his ridiculous friends were murdered, she'd regret it for the rest of her life. And so, after running as fast as she could away from them, she retreated to the shadows of the trees and managed to save Rapunzel, Jack and Hiccup. But by doing so, Dean had gotten hurt. Merida didn't know how to feel about that.

She was the only one left in the clearing. The night of blood and murder was far from over, and although she knew she had to leave quickly, somehow Merida found herself walking out from under the trees and kneeling down next to the body of her childhood sweetheart.

His wavy black hair was matted with blood, his front only partly visible in the darkness that had shrouded the jungle. As delicately as she could, she removed the knife speared in his chest. He murmured a little, and Merida's heart leapt- though she pleaded it not to. "Dean?" She whispered. "Dean can yeh hear me?" She shifted him onto his side, watching as he opened his pale blue eyes.

"Merida… Ah'm sorry tha' Ah…" He wheezed, and she felt as if her heart was going to collapse.

Swallowing, she closed her eyes. "Dean, don't it wasn't yeh fault-"

"Ah couldn't see yeh Merida… Ah couldn't bear to see _myself_…" With shaking fingers, he reached up, entwining them in her hair.

"Ah never gave up on yeh, Macintosh." She spoke his last name with a smile on her lips, just like she used to when he pissed her off back home. His eyes began to close, and she desperately grabbed his hand. "Don't yeh dare leave me. This is all my fault… Ah'm sorry, Ah'm so sorry…"

He shook his head before whispering, "No, Merida. Yeh've set me free." Dean smiled peacefully, his hand falling from her hair, and with his final piece of strength, he looked up at the beautiful moonlight shining through the trees. It physically hurt to look at him like this, but she took his cold fingers and pressed them to her lips, saying her last goodbye to the only piece of home she had left.

Merida wiped away her tears, and rising from the floor, she attempted to clear her head, to think of a plan. But at that moment, the sky erupted with noise. Thunder rumbled across the arena, and she stood transfixed as rain fell from above. For a couple of seconds, she watched as hundreds of birds flew from the trees, all going in the same direction- north. It didn't make sense, why couldn't they just seek refuge under the trees? The foliage was certainly thick enough to shelter them.

And then it hit her.

In a jungle filled with lakes and rivers, the last thing they needed was more water, because otherwise the lakes wouldn't be able to hold the rain-fall. Otherwise they would over-flow.

They were going to flood the arena.

* * *

"Jack?" Rapunzel asked, looking up at the sky as water drenched them both from head to toe.

"It's raining…" He murmured.

"We can't exactly climb in this weather, should we make camp for the night?"

He nodded and the two tributes made their base under the thick leaves of a giant Taro plant. The star-light shone through the leaves, and Rapunzel was once again amazed at the beautiful noises the insects and birds made throughout the forest. As for Jack… He'd been unusually silent on their escape from the clearing, and it worried her that he still hadn't forgiven her.

She wanted more than anything to tell him, but every time she tried… She just couldn't find the words. Maybe it was better this way. The brief encounter Elsa just proved how dangerous being in a relationship with someone was in the Games- especially if he was going to through his life away like that.

Jack began rummaging for something to eat in his rucksack, and his hand accidently brushed against Rapunzel's. He left it there for a second, only the sound of the rain pattering on the leaves could be heard over the silence that had fallen between them. She looked up at him, her heart pounding, but Jack turned his back on her, taking a swig of the water before muttering a "Sorry."

"Jack. Look at me." She said, realising this might be the last chance to tell him.

Reluctantly, his ice-blue eyes met hers. "What?"

"We need to talk about… Him." She said as bravely and confidently as she could.

"You need to get some rest, Rapunzel." He said to her disappointment, turning onto his side and facing away from her. "It doesn't matter anymore."

A lump took its root in her throat. "Jack it's not what you think, I really need to tell you-"

"I don't care."

"Why are you being like this?" She demanded. This was so unlike the Jack who she'd met on the second day of the Games. Had he given up? "I just survived getting my head ripped off by Elsa. Can't you at least _pretend_ to be happy that I'm alive right now?"

There was a long silence, before Jack spoke softly "How could you even say that?"

"Because I don't get why you're punishing me."

"I couldn't protect you, okay?" He finally turned back over and looked her straight in the eye. "It was my fault. If I hadn't been arguing with Hiccup this would never have happened."

She grabbed his hand, holding it in hers. "Listen to me. None of this is your fault." He tried to turn away again, but she pulled him into an embrace. "No matter what you did, she would have found us. There was nothing you could have done."

He nodded, and then pulled away slightly so that their eyes met. "It was horrible, Punz. He had you, and I… I couldn't do anything." Jack gently traced her puffy cheek. "Watching you get hurt like that… Especially after we'd been fighting- it was the worst moment of my life."

"…Oh." Jack leaned in, as if to kiss her, but she turned her head. "I'm sorry, it's just my lip's still swollen..."

He winced guiltily, but she just laughed, the sweet sound echoing across the jungle. Suddenly, a familiar chiming sounded above them, and they both gasped.

"Do you think that's…?" Rapunzel asked, leaning out from under the shelter of the leaves to get a closer look. He nodded, standing up to retrieve the parachute that was balanced on one of the Taro branches. He sat down again, his hair instantly turned to dreadlocks from the rain.

"This is my first one." Jack said, passing it to Rapunzel as she smiled in agreement. Opening the metal casket, Rapunzel found three roles of flaky bread, with a small piece of card tucked behind them.

It was from her mentor, the battle-scarred, tough-but-lovable Maximus. Their situation was unusual, because he had been training her for the Hunger Games since she was four years old. That technically made Rapunzel a career, but she had given up the dreams of bringing honour to her District when she found the love of her life at fifteen. Maximus had always been there for her, even after she'd stopped training, so it was strange to hear his voice again as she read the note.

_Be smart, Rapunzel. That boy will get you both killed. _

_And cut your hair. _

_Maximus._

She put a hand to the bald patch to the right of her forehead, and grimaced in pain. He was right of course, they were never going to survive this together- it was only a matter of time before...

But it didn't make it any easier.

"Rapunzel, are you alright?" Jack frowned, putting an arm round her shoulders. "What does it say?"

"Nothing." She swallowed. "Nothing at all."

* * *

**so this was kind of an interlude before the action starts again, sorry if it was a bit boring! im doing this in between mountains of homework for my GCSEs, but im gonna try to keep to a chapter a week schedule.**

**im hoping to do about 20-25 chapters for this series- it would be cool if u could check out my other stuff too? x**

**all ur reviews (critical and complimentary) are AMAZING and i love reading them! thanku and *merry christmas***


	11. Chapter 11

Dawn was breaking, but in the Hunger Games, the night was far from over.

Rain streamed down the branches of the trees, splashing onto Hiccup's hair and face, yet he did not wipe the drops away. As he waited in the high shelters of a _ tree, Merida's actions in the last couple of hours continued to play on repeat through his mind. Why did she save his life? What could she have gained from coming back to rescue them?

Where was she now?

As he stared up into the thunder-stricken sky, Hiccup's lids began to slide shut. He was exhausted. All his plans, his schemes, his 'genius' ideas- where had they gotten him? He knew the arena was going to flood, and he had decided to let himself be swept away. No one would miss him; his father, perhaps, but only for show. Rapunzel would cry and Jack would feel because Rapunzel felt bad- but that was only if they'd survived Elsa. Sorrow tugged at his heart at the thought of their cold bodies lying motionless at that physco's feet. He prayed that they were okay, even Jack, who Hiccup hated to admit he almost admired.

And what of Merida? Would she miss him if he died? After she saved his life, it seemed she disappeared into the wilderness, leaving him to call her name for the next hour before sitting crestfallen up a tree. He knew it was ridiculous to assume that the reason she came back was because she had feelings for him. But a part of him still hoped that the night they spent together meant something to her, because it did to him. He would never forget it.

Hiccup's self-pitying inner monologue was abruptly interrupted by voices echoing across the jungle. After glancing downwards, he pushed himself up against the tree, willing himself to disappear into the bark. It was Elsa's gang, though their leader seemed to be missing, thank God. He wondered if she had died from the blood-loss, but knowing Elsa, it would take a lot more than that to be rid of her. The heavy footsteps of her alliance sent vibrations up the tree, causing him to flinch. As they approached, Hiccup listened intently, still desperately trying to control his breathing.

"We head to the mountain!" One of them yelled. By the tone of authority Hiccup guessed it was Hans and shuddered inwardly. From the stories that arose during training, he was as bad, if not worse, than Elsa. Hiccup definitely didn't want a repeat of the scene in the clearing a couple of hours ago.

"What about Ralph?" Another called. "You said we could kill him tonight. Don't tell me you're afraid of a little rain-" He laughed, but was cut-off by Han's aggressive tone.

"Are you questioning my decision?" Hans asked, sending a sinister chill down Hiccup's spine. When he dared to look down, he saw a group of five tributes huddled in a circle standing roughly 5 metres below his perch. His heart hammered against his rib-cage as he leaned back up against the tree, a lump of fear hanging in his throat.

"No! No… I just don't understand why we're running from the weather…"

A brutal noise, that Hiccup guessed to be a slap, rang across the forest. "Never question my orders again. Is that clear?"

There was a small murmur in reply, and as they began to set-off again, Hiccup let a sigh of relief escape through his lips. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he silently cursed himself for being so stupid. The foot-steps stopped, and there was a short pause before one of the tributes hissed "What are you-"

"We're being watched."

As Hiccup's fingers pressed against the side of his nose, he prayed to the heavens that they wouldn't look up. He pushed himself further round the other side of the tree, but the movement made him slip on the wet-moss covering his branch. His hand's struggled to grab onto the trunk. Suddenly he fell, yelping in surprise as his fingers just managed to hold onto the slippery wood. His feet swung about three metres above his cousin's head. Pain speared through his right arm, undoing all the work his friend had spent so much time and energy fixing-up. It was all he could do not to scream in agony. Hiccup's knuckles became white with the strain as they began to slip from his perch; seconds felt like hours as he watched the group look about themselves for the source of the noise.

"What the fuck was tha-" Began Snotlout before their attention was snatched by a scream in the opposite direction.

Hiccup's blood ran cold. He'd recognize that scream anywhere. It was Merida's.

Hans broke into a run, signalling for the others to follow him. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Hiccup dropped down from the branch, careful to keep his legs bent so as not to sprain an ankle. As soon as he reached the ground, he bound his arm back into the sling, wincing as it knocked against his chest.

He knew he was no longer safe here; he had to escape and find shelter. But Merida's cry kept ringing through his ears, making it difficult to turn his back on her. When they thought all hope was lost, she'd come back to save them- and whatever her reasoning was- he owed her for that. He had to find her.

Just as Hiccup was about to follow the group of tributes, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see a mess of wild red hair and blue eyes pull him into a sopping bear hug.

"Did yeh miss me?" She asked her voice rough in his ear. He broke away quickly, his face flaming in embarrassment.

"How did… I mean, where did… The scream? I thought you were…"

She rolled her eyes. "It was a diversion, Hiccup. Ah thought yeh could use some help, dangling above your cousin's head an' all."

"Thankyou. Again." He said and she nodded in reply, her eyes glistening with a softness he hadn't seen before. Something had definitely changed in her, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Then he thought for a moment, an odd smile playing about his lips. "Hang on. Were you… following me?"

Then it was Merida's turn to go bright red. "Of course not! I mean… When yeh put it like tha'-" She said, her District's accent getting stronger as she became more flustered. "Ah just _happened_ to see yeh sittin' in that tree… and yeh looked so peaceful… Ah didn't want to disturb yeh, tha's all!"

He grinned boyishly and she punched him in the shoulder, looking more bashful than annoyed. "Come on," He laughed, putting a hand on her back. "Let's get to the mountain before we drown in this awful rain."

* * *

Jack awakened from his sleep to find two huge green eyes anxiously staring down at him. "Your hair!" He exclaimed, reaching up a hand to touch the birds-nest that had replaced her beautiful golden waves. Rapunzel bit her lip nervously and, looking closer, Jack noticed the locks were slightly browner than they were previously. She must have chopped a lot of her blond highlights away.

"You like it?" She asked self-consciously, and he chuckled under his breath. He could only imagine what she'd used to cut it, and if he had to hazard a guess, it'd be meat cleavers. But because it was Rapunzel, she carried the look with a certain charm that only she could pull-off. It was ridiculously unfair how cute she looked, even with half her hair sawn off.

Jack stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I love it." He said. _I love you_, his thoughts added, and he suddenly dropped his hand, stunned at what had just come out.

He _loved_ her?

"Is everything okay?" She questioned, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"What? Oh, um, yeah. Sorry." He responded before abruptly standing up. "We should, um, probably get going."

"Oh. Okay." Rapunzel replied, slightly disappointed, but trying hard not to show it. "It's still raining… Maybe we should stay until it calms down?"

Glancing outside, Jack cursed under his breath as he realised she was right. Ever since last night, the rain had been torrential, and there were no signs of it stopping any time soon. "It just doesn't make any sense!" He blurted out, and when he noticed Rapunzel looking at him quizzically, he explained "I don't understand. Why rain? Why now?"

"Maybe the victors want to cause confusion." Rapunzel suggested, inching slightly closer to him. "Or perhaps it's decorative? I mean, this is a _rainforest_."

"I don't think that's it…" He shook his head, trying to put the puzzle together in his mind. "It feels like there's a _specific reason_ they're doing this. Just like there's gotta be a reason that the arena's so big, and that there are so many lakes and rivers, and that there's a huge mountain-"

"You're on the right lines, but at this rate you'll never get there." A low voice sounded from behind neighbouring tree. Jack nodded to Rapunzel, who skilfully retrieved a blade from her pants, slowly rising from the ground to meet their pursuer. His eyes focused intently on the figure appearing from the shadows and he smiled as he felt small fingers lock into his own. "Oh there's no need for that. I'm on your side."

As the form came closer to the light, Jack heard Rapunzel take sharp intake of breath as she looked up. Mustering up all of his courage, Jack did the same.

"_You_."

* * *

**FINALLY! I UPDATED! 3 CHEERS FOR MEEEE~**

**i hope u guys had a great winter break, and i hope to be posting another chapter soon(ish) as ive finally got back into this series! its going to get pretty exciting with the next couple of chapters, and i cant wait to write some more~**

**(also i kno this isn't the best chapter ive ever written, but i needed it to introduce a new arc in the plotline- so im sorry if its not what u expected.) **

**anyways, y'all have a great day x**


	12. Chapter 12

"_You_."

Pale blue eyes bore into Jack's as Elsa took another step into the light. Her hair was drenched and knotted from the rain, her knees caked in mud and her wounded shoulder encrusted with blood. Dark rings hung under her eyes, and a yellow tinge blemished her snow-white skin.

Yet Elsa was still perfect in a way he couldn't describe. The pain she had endured in the past couple of hours hadn't taken away her surreal beauty, or, apparently, her determination.

"Yes." She said matter-of-factly. "Me."

Anger boiled up in Jack's stomach as he automatically stood in front of Rapunzel, shielding her from Elsa. "Don't take another step." He growled, fury clouding his judgement. This girl almost murdered Rapunzel. They might have escaped with their lives, but her face was still brutally scarred from Elsa's twisted little games. He doubted she would ever fully heal from last night's events. "Rapunzel, run." He hissed to the girl behind him, but she shook her head, defiant.

"I'm staying right here." She replied. He felt her hand squeeze his shoulder and was grateful for the physical reassurance. It was the only thing stopping him from throwing himself at the disgusting physcopath standing before him.

"Not to ruin this touching scene," Elsa said, running her fingers through her hair, an arrogant smirk on her lips. Jack clenched his jaw. "But why is a District 12 protecting a _career_?"

That was it. In a flash, Jack shook off Rapunzel's grip, retrieved his knife and pushed it to Elsa's throat. The impact sent a bead of blood trickling down her neck, the drops seeping into her already filthy t-shirt.

"Jack, I don't think-" Rapunzel began, biting her bottom lip. But the District 2 hadn't even flinched, she just stood there, surveying him under her cool, emotionless gaze.

She leaned into Jack his ear, her sweet breath tickling his chin. "You're going to have to trust me if you want to win this thing."

He drew back, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"That's right." She raised her eyebrows, stepping out to the side of him. "I want to join you."

* * *

"Not that this isn't a great plan…" Began Hiccup, struggling to keep up with Merida's fast pace up the mountain. "But don't you think we're being a bit reckless?"

The rain continued pouring down on the tributes heads, so merciless it was difficult to keep their eyes open. But single beams of light now pierced through the dark clouds rumbling above, signifying that morning had arrived. "About wha'?" Merida questioned, too focused on struggling through the rain to bother turning round to look at him.

"Oh I don't know... Maybe about entering a _bloodbath_?" He asked incredulously, his balance wavering a little as he almost slipped on the wet rocks beneath their feet.

"Careful," She said with a hint of a smile in her voice. "How would Ah be able teh survive withou' a big beefy man like yerself protecting meh?" She hung back, allowing him to catch up before opening the cap of the water bottle with her teeth and handing it to him. He took it gratefully, drinking in big, long gulps. "Steady on Hiccup, we've still gotta long way tah go."

The boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "_Great_." He muttered under his breath, which earned him a reproachful glare from Merida.

"What was that?"

"Just commenting on what a nice day it is!" He called, and she laughed as the wind blew even harder in their direction. It was as if the weather wanted them to turn back towards the flood. Then again, thought Hiccup, that's probably exactly what the 'weather' wanted.

The two tributes walked in silence for a while after that, the freezing conditions making it difficult to talk even if they wanted to. Luckily, Merida had managed to fight her way to the Concubine at the beginning of the games. That had provided her a two large fleece blankets, which stopped at least some of the bitter wind and icy water from flooding into their raincoats.

As they battled through the torrential rain, Hiccup couldn't help but notice the sudden calmness that had taken over Merida. Despite his feelings for her, it made him suspicious. What plan did she have that she wasn't telling him? How did she think they were going to survive a group of careers and trained killers?

Was she going to betray him?

The question pierced Hiccup's mind like the sharp daggers of rain attacking them. He wanted to trust her, he really did. But that single thought kept nagging him at the back of his mind. She wouldn't have saved him just to pawn him off to Snotlout… Would she?

Suddenly Merida stopped dead in her tracks, her fleece cape narrowly avoiding whipping him in the eye. "What?" He yelped in bewilderment.

"Yeh know how yeh said Ah shoul' be more worried about the mountain?" She replied, looking down into a crevice between the boulders beneath them. "Well, Ah think yeh might be righ'."

Hiccup stood next to her, his feet balancing on the edge of the rock. He had to bite down a scream as he peered into the darkness below.

A canon sounded across the arena.

* * *

"You can't be serious." Jack spat, but Elsa just turned her gaze to Rapunzel, giving her a knowing smile.

Rapunzel knew what that smile meant. It said, "We're both careers, and we know best".

Any idiot would know not to trust that smile.

But Rapunzel knew in her heart that this was the best, maybe the only way to survive the games. So even though Jack would hate her for it, she took the bait and nodded to Elsa. Thankfully he was too busy glowering to notice their interaction. "Jack… Maybe we should consider it?"

"Are you fucking serious?" He spun around to look at her. "You were nearly murdered by this freak!"

"Ooh, that hurt." Elsa pouted.

Jack ignored her. "And now you want to team up with her? What's wrong with you?"

Rapunzel took his hand and pulled him towards her a little. "This is the Hunger Games, Jack…" She stroked his hand with her thumb. She knew it was manipulative, the way she used his affection for her to get what she wanted. But this was for his own good- or at least, that's what she told herself. "Just look at her! She's unarmed, injured- she's totally at our mercy."

"Huh," He pulled his hand away, tipping his head to one side. "Well doesn't that sound familiar?"

"It's not the same-"

"Do what you want, Rapunzel." He sighed, shaking his head and turning his back on her. "You've already decided, anyway."

She watched him walk away, his back slouched, his footsteps heavy.

"Ouch." Elsa commented as she passed her. "Are you coming or what?"

* * *

"Rex," Merida commented, her voice emotionless. "District 6." The boy's body was discoloured and mangled beyond identifiable, but his face… _Oh god his face…_

Hiccup looked away, covering his mouth with a freezing hand.

"A tribute couldn't have done this." Merida looked up at him, her fear well concealed, but he could still catch a glimmer of it in her eyes. "No." He concluded. "It must have been some kind of animal…"

He let his words trail of, but the unspoken ones still hung in the air. _Or monster._

"Wha' should we do?" Merida asked, her hair whipping around her face, made twice its size by the wind. "We cannae exactly go back."

"Then we do the only thing we can. Onwards and upwards I guess." Hiccup replied, some of his wry humour returning. Merida smiled. She grabbed his hand, holding it to her cheek. The action made his heart jump and his face flame in embarrassment.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Ahm keepin' yeh hand's warm!" She laughed rolling her eyes. "Wha' did yeh think Ah was doin'?" She then pulled him up the next boulder, facing away from him so he couldn't to see that her cheeks were equally red- and not because of the wind.

* * *

**damn that was difficult...**

**sorry i haven't had a chance to proof read! (excuse any misspellings or grammar mistakes _ it's been a long day)**

**since it's Easter Holidays hopefully I should be able to get another chapter out soon, but i cant promise anything :c**

**hope u enjoy anyways~**


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